One of the oldest settlements in the Left-bank Ukraine, Baryshivka, is situated to the west of Boryspil and 70 km from Kyiv. It is a township, a railway station, and a district center, which was established in 1965. Its area is 957.6 км2 or 3.4% of Kyiv region.
History of Baryshivka is closely linked with the dramatic history of Ukraine. Ancestors of Baryshivka inhabitants defended their independence in the battles against the Golden Horde, Lithuanian feudal lords, and Polish nobility. Peoples’ uprisings led by Nalyvayko, Pav-Huk, and Ostrianyn rolled through the Baryshivka lands as well.
There are several explanations to the origin of the village name. The famous historian A.V. Storozhenko linked it with annalistic «Baruch», mentioned for the first time in 1125—1126. Other researchers provide information on the principality of the Kyiv Prince Borys, which existed at the site of present-day Baryshivka (eleventh century) — «Borysivna», which turned into «Baryshivka» in the folk pronunciation (local population also calls neighboring Boryspil «Baryshpil»).
In the twelfth century Baryshivka suffered a devastating invasion of the Mongols. It was rebuilt in the late sixteenth century by the Cossacks, fugitive villagers and artisans from Khodoriv, Rzhyschev, Dyvyna, and other towns and villages of the Right-bank Ukraine. Baryshivka is mentioned as an important fortified site in the seventeenth century chronicles. Local population took part in peasant uprisings led by Taras Triasylo.
T. Shevchenko visited the village in 1843. The poet visited an excavated mound, which has remained to our times and is located near the town of Berezan’.
A typical landscape of Baryshivka district is made up of fertile fields, cattle on the pastures, and captivating birds’ singing in the air! No wonder that these lands have been famous for over the centuries: they collected honey here, extracted peat, even produced silk! In order to understand the soul of the Ukrainian people it is necessary to see local meadows, come by the villages, and survey the rhythm of the local plowmen: unhurried, thoughtful, and in tune with nature… When it is time to sow — they are active, concentrated, and joyful. When the harvesting requires all their efforts — all of them, the youngest and the oldest, bow low to the land, which feeds them, asking the Sun to slow its movement for at least a little while sо that they have enough time to do everything what is necessary. During the «harvest home» celebration in the villages they begin to sing songs, celebrating the weddings. The storerooms are full with the gifts of nature, the cold weather in the future is not frightening, and there is time and opportunity to slake their thirst for creativity, and muse over the life… The Baryshivka artist Mykola Bykov, who lives at Proletars’ka Street, decorated his fence with carving. Paintings and sculptures are close by at his shop, and the walls are ornate with murals, just because it is more beautiful this way! The land is the beauty! The people, who are aware of that, decorate the surroundings with churches, parks, and orchards. The churches of Baryshivka district are elegant; they are located in the most picturesque places as well. Look at the churches in the villages of Hostroluchchia and Selysche: some churches in the big cities can envy their architecture! Archeological finds prove that many centuries ago (second millennium В. С — second century A. D.) people lived at the site of the present-day Selysche, which also gives this locality grounds to be proud of its past.
The Trubizh river, the main waterway in the district, is quiet. Its banks, covered with reed provide shelter for numerous birds and animals. It is a sheer pleasure and delight to come for a vacation here!